Re:Ask HN: Are FAANG employees right for an early-stage star...
by lhorie on Tuesday April 05, 2022 @08:38PM
(#30926993)
No offense, but your choice of talking point reads a bit like gatekeeping and ageism. One can just as easily argue that most startups fail therefore "most startup employees aren't suited for startups" either...
I'd certainly say that stagnation/passiveness is going to be a problem for a startup early employee candidate, but there's nothing inherent about being a FAANG dev or being in the startup scene that necessarily equates to drive. I know of "lifers" that have a ton of drive; they just also happen to have incredible alignment with their companies.
Here's an anecdotal story about the meaninglessness of labels: My own brother joined a startup in its early days. He had just come out of a PhD program, and despite having had virtually no prior industry experience (neither startup or corporate), he eventually grew to the position of director of tech. The startup IPOed last year. Its name? Duolingo.
There will always be exceptions but the demographics are no better than the general public: if there's 1% in the general population are suitable for startups, then only 1% of FAANG employees are suitable for startups.
I'd never assume anything just because they worked for a FAANG.
BTW I worked at HP and honestly most HP alums I know who were "lifers" would be no more suitable. Only if they were in certain roles and changed jobs fairly often would it be likely they'd be able to handle it.